Methods and Systems for Improved System Performance

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided for improving system responsiveness while increasing efficiency and scalability of network communication by combining reliable and unreliable network transports. A method and system is provided for client polling a status server to see if there is new data, receiving a notification that there is new data, sending a client request to a server premises which retrieves the new data from a database and returns the new data to the client. Communication with the status server uses an unreliable packet or a reliable packet, whereas communication between the client and the server premises uses reliable transport. A redundant cluster of status servers and methods is provided.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.60/886,439, filed Jan. 24, 2007, which application is incorporatedherein by reference.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in thisspecification, are herein incorporated by reference to the same extentas if each individual publication, patent, or patent application wasspecifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.The present application incorporates by reference U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/886,439, filed Jan. 24, 2007, U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/084,232, filed on Mar. 16, 2005 and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/084,657 filed on Mar. 16, 2005, in their entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a client server system according to anembodiment.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of a server premises according to anembodiment.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of a client-server system using reliableand unreliable transports according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A client-server architecture consists of a client making requests to aserver. The server cannot contact the client directly, so the clientpolls the server periodically to see if there is any new data for it. Areliable transport is used in order to assure reliable synchronizationbetween the server and client. On an IP network, that means using TCP asthe transport, often with HTTP/XML/SOAP riding on top of it.

According to various embodiments, combination of technologies are usedto improve the responsiveness of such a client-server system while atthe same time reducing load on the client, the server and the networkaccording to various embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a client-server system. At the client premises, aclient program, either on a PC or an Internet appliance/gateway, needsto stay in sync with data on a server at a remote location. FIG. 1 showsthe database on the server where current information for that client isstored. In most cases, it is impossible—or at least highly unreliableand subject to security risks—for the client program to listen forupdate data coming from the server. Home users typically use a broadbandrouter that acts as a firewall and prevents incoming data requests.Hence the practical solution is for the client to poll the serverperiodically see if there is any new data that the client needs toretrieve.

FIG. 2 illustrates a server installation. Requests first come in throughfirewall hardware (1). Next they are passed to a web server (2) whichchecks where to dispatch the request. As this is dynamic data, the webserver will pass it on to an application server (3) to retrieve thedata. The data is stored in a database, so the application serverultimately needs to query the database server (4) to get the currentstatus.

This process winds up taking up many processor cycles and relatedresources at the server premises:

-   -   TCP connections require additional statefull management by the        firewall    -   Web server needs to handle the request, write logs, pass on the        request to the application servers    -   Application server decodes the request and sends a data access        request to the database server    -   Database server accesses the data and returns it

In addition, the networks that connect these servers would have totypically carry the additional traffic connected with the request.

If the client is a modern PC, then it would typically be able to handlethe load of frequent synchronization requests to a single server.However, if the client is a lower-powered Internet appliance, formattingand managing a TCP connection and a request-response session can becostly in terms of processor cycles and memory. Even if there were zerocost on the server or network side, such a client cannot afford theoverhead of frequent polling of its server via its web service. Frequentserver polls may well have a deleterious effect on overall applianceperformance, possibly more than negating any improvements achieved dueto rapid polls.

In order to appear responsive to changes, the client may need to make“frequent” requests of the server, at some predetermined poll rate.Frequent requests may put an extra load on both the server and theclient, as well as the network transport.

One approach is to use a variable poll rate, possibly improvingresponsiveness in cases where the likelihood of new data is knownbeforehand. But this does not help at all if the data updates from theserver are infrequent and not predictable.

Ideally there would be a way to provide rapid response without thecostly overhead to the client, server or network.

The standard, reliable client-server interaction may be combined with aseparate, out-of-band unreliable transport “connection”. As shown inFIG. 3, a third-party server serves as a “status” server. It providesunreliable access to the current status of data for the client (“do Ineed to sync?”). Because it is unreliable (using only a UDP Datagrampacket under TCP/IP), it does not incur the overhead of TCP connections.Even a small client appliance can make frequent UDP requests to thestatus server without impacting its ordinary work. Since its normal pollrate can be greatly reduced or eliminated, the client does not incurserver-sync TCP overhead nearly as often as it does without the statusserver.

When the server does have new data for the client, it notifies thestatus server, which updates its cache. The next time the client checkswith the status server, the client will see that there is new data forthe client and the client contacts its server via its TCP web service inthe usual way.

Certain embodiments of the system may include the following, or varioussubsets or combinations thereof:

-   -   1. A client-server architecture where the client can make        requests of the server but not vice versa.    -   2. The client-server architecture uses a reliable transport for        synchronization messages    -   3. The server occasionally has new data to send down to the        client    -   4. A third-part server is added that        -   1. Is not vital to the operation of the system—the system            runs, albeit at a reduced responsiveness, without it (it            does not replace any of the existing client-server            synchronization functionality)        -   2. It is a single server, or small cluster of servers            -   1. Since it is not vital, it is “allowed” to fail                temporarily            -   2. That means it can operate from its own cache in RAM,                making it very fast and scalable                -   1. Only a tiny amount of information needs to be                    kept for every client, so any modern server will                    have more than enough RAM to accommodate an entire                    data center's worth of clients                -   2. It does not use a database—no DB overhead                -   3. It does not need to communicate with any other                    servers—no additional local network traffic                -   4. It does not do any logging—saving considerable                    processor cycles and disk usage.            -   3. It uses unreliable UDP Datagram packet exchange for                its communication

The result is that, at a very low cost in 1) server usage, 2) clientprocessor cycles, and 3) data center bandwidth, the responsiveness ofthe overall system can be greatly improved.

According to an embodiment, redundant status servers may be used. In anembodiment, the single status server is replaced by a cluster of serversthat share the same status data. This will incur at least the cost ofadditional communication between servers, possibly through a database.Nevertheless, various of the client and bandwidth utilization benefitsdescribed above may be achieved in some embodiments with such analternate redundant-server configuration.

In an embodiment, a reliable transport (i.e. TCP/IP) is used for thestatus checks. This may incur at least the cost of additionalcommunication between servers, and additionally does not reduce thetraffic or load on the client side. However, this does still provide away to reduce the load on the server farm while still providing thelow-latency advantages.

The present application incorporates by reference U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/886,439, filed Jan. 24, 2007, U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/084,232, filed on Mar. 16, 2005 and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/084,657 filed on Mar. 16, 2005, in their entirety.

For example, an embodiment comprises any of the above systems or methodsalone or in combination as part of a network for premises management.The network may include premises management devices such as a smartthermostat. The premises management devices are connected to a premisesnetwork which can be, for example, an RF and/or power line network. Thepremises network is connected to a gateway which in turn is connected toa broadband device such as a DSL, cable, or T1 line. The gateway canalternatively or also be connected to a dial up modern. The premises isconnected to the Internet according to an embodiment. The Internet isconnected to system managers at the network operations center. TheInternet is also connected to customers of the system manager, forexample vendors such as premises vendors, communication service vendors,or Internet portal vendors. The Internet is also connected to vendees,such as premises vendees, communication service vendees, or Internetportal vendees.

An embodiment may include programmable code and devices with screens ofa portal interface for premises management. For example, code with maysummarize premises management services. Code may summarize securitymanagement services and safety management services. Code may alsosummarize energy management services. Services offered by the system canbe branded and incorporated into a third part web portal, for example,in a personal portal such as one provided by Yahoo.

The look and feel of the system pane can be tailored by the serviceprovider.

In an embodiment, a system portal summary page may show a snap-shot ofthe state of the various devices in the user premises. For example, inan embodiment, the user can change premises by clicking on this box andselecting a different premises. A status pane may list the differentdevices in the user premises along with their actual states. A pendingupdates pane may show the time of the last communication between thepremises and the server as well as any pending updates waiting to besent downlink to the premises. The pictures pane shows the last several(e.g. last four) pictures taken by the camera in the user premises. Theuser can click on a thumbnail picture to look at a larger version of thephoto as well as access archived images for that camera, look at livevideo, take new pictures or delete photos. The schedule pane shows theschedules activities for the premises. The alarm history shows anarchive of the most recent event and activity in the user premises. Thereminders pane provides a means for the system to remind the user toperform certain activities or functions related to their home orbusiness. The mode drop down button on the blue navigation bar allowsthe user to switch between the systems modes. The QuikControl drop downallows the user to control any device that is controllable (e.g. camera,thermostat, lamps, etc.).

According to an embodiment, a method is provided for premises managementnetworking. Premises management devices connected to a gateway at apremises are monitored and controlled. According to an embodiment, nuplink-initiation signal associated with a network operations centerserver is received at the premises. In response to the uplink-initiationsignal, communications between the gateway and the network operationscenter server may be initiated from the gateway at the premises. Duringthe communications between the gateway and the network operations centerserver, information associated with the premises management devices maybe communicated.

The premises gateway can be a low-cost and stand-alone unit thatconnects the in-premises devices to the server. The connectivity to theInternet can be accomplished via a broadband connection (T1, DSL orcable) and/or via the telephone line. Though broadband connectivity maybe used, telephone connectivity may be present as a back-up option incase the broadband connection is lost. For premises without a broadbandconnection (e.g., vacation homes) a telephone-only connection can beused.

A user account may be established by the end user using personalinformation (name, payment option, etc.) of the user. The accountregistration may involve the user logging on to the system manager website and establishing a new account by entering name, address, phonenumber, payment details and/or the gateway serial number printed on thegateway in the end user's possession. In some cases the system managerservice account may already be pre-established with the gateway serialnumber and the end user simply has to update the account with personaland payment information. Multiple gateways can also be handled per useraccount.

The gateway may be registered to associate the user account on thesystem manager server (established in the previous step) with an actualgateway in the user's home. The gateway is connected to a broadbandnetwork or the telephone line in the home.

An embodiment may help provide users with a hosted and managed servicefor premises device monitoring and control for a fee, such as a monthlysubscription fee. The premises markets include residential homes,commercial MTUs as well as small businesses.

Embodiments may provide device logging, activity logging and tracking.For example, an embodiment can log any device variable specified by theuser for up to, for example, 30 days. The user defines a logginginterval for each variable at the time of configuration. The loggingfeature can be handled by the gateway on the local device side and thedata can be transferred to the server at regular intervals. The overallvariable log for all variables can be kept on the server side. Loggingof data for more than, for example, 30 days (but no more than, forexample, 180 days) can be provided to the user, for example for anominal fee. An embodiment may provide at least, for example, a 14-dayhistory log of all user, system and device actions. An action includes achange to a device variable, system or network settings brought on byeither the system or the user (e.g., variable changed, logging enabled,device added, user notified, etc.). The user can trace back systemactivities to their cause and to the date and time they occurred. Pastactivities can be searched by variable, device, category or date.

An embodiment can support user-defined modes, such as “home,” “away,”“sleep,” “vacation,” etc. The mode the user network is in plays a factorin the determination of the actions taken (reporting, alarming,eventing, notification, etc.) by the system when variable changes occur.According to an embodiment, the user can specify alarm conditions forvariables with discrete states (e.g., binary ON/OFF). These alarms canbe reported in real-time (i.e., immediate uplink) by the gateway to theserver. The server then in turn looks at the data and determines, basedon user alarm settings, whether to notify the user or not.

According to an embodiment, for non-critical events, the system cannotify the user in non-real-time fashion regarding the state of anyvariable specified by the user. The variables chosen for user eventingcan be of any kind (discrete or continuous). The gateway updates theserver with the change of variable state/value at a regularly scheduledupload. The server continuously looks at variable data and determines,based on user eventing settings, whether to notify the user or not.Eventing conditions can be determined based on the value or state of avariable as well as the system mode. According to an embodiment, thesystem can support user alarming and eventing via the following methods:email, text messaging, pager, and/or voice telephone call (voicesynthesis).

An embodiment may provide device data monitoring and control. The usercan specify any device variable for monitoring and control via theserver portal. For example, up to 255 devices can be supported by asingle gateway. For example, up to 512 variables can be supported by asingle gateway.

The system can support an open architecture where most, if not alldevice networking protocols can be supported. Examples of specificdevice protocols supported by the system include RF and powerlineprotocols, such as GE Interlogix RF and Echelon LonWorks power line (PL& FT), simplifying the installation burden by requiring no new wires tobe installed in a premises. The LonWorks free topology twisted pairmedium (FT-10) can be supported as an option to support certaincommercial applications (e.g., office buildings).

The following is a non-exhaustive list of a few other devices that maybe supported by the system according to various embodiments.

-   -   1. Small data/message display—for text messages, news, weather,        stock, photos, etc.    -   2. Door latch control    -   3. Pool/spa controller    -   4. Weather station    -   5. Lighting control    -   6. Elderly or disabled monitoring    -   7. Irrigation controller (Bibija)    -   8. VCR programming

The system can support cameras. For example, standard off-the-shelf IPcameras (also referred to as web cameras) may be used, such as thoseavailable from vendors such as Axis, Panasonic, Veo, D-Link, andLinksys, or other cameras manufactured for remote surveillance andmonitoring. Surveillance cameras may contain a standalone web server anda unique IP address may be assigned to the camera. The user of such acamera would typically retrieve the camera image by accessing thecamera's web page through a standard web browser, using the camera's IPaddress. In some cases the IP camera acquires a local IP address byusing a DHCP client to negotiate an address from the local DHCP server(usually residing in the user's router/firewall).

According to an embodiment, a gateway can initiate all communicationswith the server. Gateway communication can either initiate based on apredetermined schedule (e.g., every 30 minutes) or due to a localpremises alarm (selected by the user).

Gateways can contact a common server for their first uplink connectionin order to obtain their assigned gateway server address, which they canuse for all subsequent uplink connections (unless changed later by thesystem). In the event that the gateway cannot connect to its designatedgateway server, it can fall back to contacting the default initialgateway in order to refresh its gateway server address.

The predetermined call initiation schedule can be programmable by theserver and can provide different intervals for broadband and telephoneintervals (e.g., every 30 minutes for broadband and every 90 minutes fortelephone).

An embodiment may be directed to a control network having a collectionof sensor and actuator devices that are networked together. Sensordevices sense something about their surroundings and report what theysense on the network. Examples of sensor devices are door/windowsensors, motion detectors, smoke detectors and remote controls.

Actuator devices receive commands over the network and then perform somephysical action. Actuator devices may include light dimmers, appliancecontrollers, burglar alarm sirens and cameras. Some actuator devicesalso act as sensors, in that after they respond to a command, the resultof that command is sent back over the network. For example, a lightdimmer may return the value that it was set to. A camera returns animage after has been commanded to snap a picture.

In addition to the foregoing, the following are various examples ofembodiments.

Some embodiments of a method for premises management networking includemonitoring premises management devices connected to a gateway at apremises; controlling premises management devices connected to thegateway at the premises; receiving, at the premises, anuplink-initiation signal associated with a network operations centerserver; and in response to the uplink-initiation signal, initiating,from the gateway at the premises, communications between the gateway andthe network operations center server; and communicating, during thecommunications between the gateway and the network operations centerserver, information associated with the premises management devices.

The uplink-initiation signal can be received via telephone and/orbroadband connection. The gateway can initiate communications betweenthe gateway and the network operations center server with at least anHTTP message and/or at least an XML message. The premises managementdevices can manage energy of the premises, security of the premises,and/or safety of the premises. Many embodiments provide a hostedsolution for property developers, owners and managers as well as serviceproviders (ISPs, telcos, utilities, etc.) such as communication serviceproviders and Internet portal providers. Some embodiments offer acomplete, turnkey, reliable, and/or cost-effective solution for thedelivery of telemetry services (e.g., energy management, security,safety, access, health monitoring, messaging, etc.) to customers.

An embodiment is directed to a business method for premises management.Some embodiments of a business method for premises management includemaking an Internet portal available for access to a vendee, such as apremises vendee, communication service vendee, and/or an Internet portalvendee; and at least after a transaction between the vendor and thevendee, such as a premises transaction, a communication servicestransaction, and/or Internet portal services transaction, providingpremises management services via the Internet portal to the vendee.

The Internet portal can be branded with a brand of the vendor accordingto an embodiment. Examples of a premises vendor include a home builder,premises builder, and premises manager. Examples of a premises vendeeinclude a home buyer, premises buyer, and premises tenant. Examples of acommunication service vendor include an Internet service provider, atelephone company, a satellite television company, and a cabletelevision company. Examples of a communication service vendee include acustomer of the Internet service provider, a customer of the telephonecompany, a customer of the satellite television company, and a customerof the cable television company. Premises management services can manageenergy of the premises, security of the premises, and/or safety of thepremises.

An embodiment is directed to a system. The system includes a network ofpremises management devices, a gateway coupled to the network andpremises management devices, a server coupled to the gateway by acommunication medium and a portal coupled to the communications medium.The portal provides communication with the premises management devices.

According to various embodiments alone or in various combinations: thecommunications medium may comprise the Internet; the portal may comprisean internet portal; and/or the portal may be branded with the name of avendor of a product associated with the premises. The product maycomprise a building, and/or the vendor may comprise a party that leasesthe premises. The vendor may also or alternatively comprise a propertymanagement organization. The server may be included within a networkoperations center. The logic may comprise, according to variousembodiments, software, hardware, or a combination of software andhardware.

Another embodiment is directed to a gateway. The gateway includes aninterface coupled to a network of premises management devices, logicthat receives data from different premises management devices, and aninterface coupled to a communications medium that is coupled to aserver. The server is coupled to a portal coupled to the communicationsmedium. The portal provides communications with the premises managementdevices.

According to various embodiments alone or in various combinations: thecommunications medium may comprise the Internet; the portal may comprisean internet to portal; and/or the portal may be branded with the name ofa vendor of a product associated with the premises. The product maycomprise a building; the vendor may comprise a party that leases thepremises; the vendor may comprise a property management organization;and/or the server may be included within a network operations center.

Provided herein is a method for network communication comprising aclient polling a server to see if there is new data for the client toreceive. If there is new data for the client to receive, the client mayreceive a first notification from the server that there is new data forthe client to receive. The polling may use uses a packet. The pollingmay use an unreliable packet. The polling may use an unreliable datagrampacket. The polling may use a reliable packet. The polling may use atransmission control protocol packet (TCP) as a reliable packet. Ifthere is new data for the client to receive, the status server may senda notification to the client, and the client, upon receiving thenotification, may send a client request for the new data to a serverpremises. The sending and receiving of the first notification may use,for example, at least one of a reliable packet, an unreliable packet, anunreliable datagram packet (UDP) and a transmission control protocolpacket (TCP) as a reliable packet. The sending and receiving of thefirst notification may use a packet. The packet may be referred to asthe first packet herein. The server premises may comprise a systemserver and a database. Upon receiving the client request, the systemserver retrieves the new data from the database. The client receives thenew data from the server premises. In some embodiments, the client sendsthe client request to the server premises and the client receives thenew data from the server premises using reliable transport. In someembodiments, the reliable transport is TCP. In some embodiments, thereliable transport comprises a transmission control protocol packet(TCP). Reliable transport may be with at least one of XML, HTTP, andSOAP riding on top of it.

The server premises may comprise a system server and a database. Thesystem server may comprise a firewall, a web server, an applicationserver, and, a database server.

In some embodiments, the step of the system server retrieving the newdata comprises the application server decoding the client request andsending a data access request to the database server. In someembodiments, the step of the system server retrieving the new datafurther comprises the database server accessing the new data from thedatabase and returning the new data to the application server.

The client may comprise a low powered Internet appliance. The client maycomprise a gateway.

The method may further comprise the system server notifying the serverthat there is new data. Upon notification that there is new data, theserver may update its cache to indicate there is new data for theclient. While they are not necessarily interchangeable (although in someembodiments, they may be), attributes (or lack thereof) of the servermay exist (or fail to exist) in the status server. Likewise, attributes(or the lack thereof) of the status server may exist (or fail to exist)in the server, The server may be also referred to as the first serverherein.

In some embodiments, the method further uses a redundant system having asecond server that is pollable to determine whether there is new datafor the client. The method comprises the client polling the secondserver to see if there is new data for the client to receive, the clientreceiving a second notification from the second server that there is newdata for the client to receive, and upon receiving the secondnotification, the client sending a client request for the new data tothe server premises. The client polling of the second server may use asecond packet. The second packet may be unreliable. The second packetmay be an unreliable datagram packet (UDP). The second packet may bereliable. The second packet may be a transmission control protocolpacket (TCP). The second server may have all the attributes (or lackthereof) of a status server. The second server may have all theattributes (or lack thereof) of a server as described or referencedherein. The second server, may be a status server. The sending of theclient request to the server premises uses reliable transport. In someembodiments, the reliable transport is TCP. In some embodiments, thereliable transport comprises a transmission control protocol packet(TCP). Reliable transport may be with at least one of XML, HTTP, andSOAP riding on top of it.

The first server and the second server may make up a cluster of servers.Additional redundant servers may be added similarly for polling anddetermining if there is new data for the client. Any one (or more thanone, or all) of the messages between the server and the client, orbetween the server and the server premises may fail. The method maycomprise one of the first server and the second server failing to notifythe client that there is new data for the client to receive. The servermay be polled more frequently to adjust for this. Additional redundantservers may be added to the cluster and used similarly to the firstserver and/or the second server to ensure the message that there is newdata for the client to receive is not lost for long.

Provided herein is a network communication system comprising a serverpremises comprising a system server and a database and a client. Theclient may comprise logic that polls a first server to see if there isnew data for the client to receive, logic that receives a firstnotification from the server that there is new data for the client toreceive, logic that, when the client receives the first notification,sends a client request to the server premises to retrieve the new data,and logic that receives the new data from the server premises. Thesystem server may comprise logic that upon receiving the client request,retrieves the new data from the database. The logic that polls the firstserver and the logic that receives the first notification may use apacket. The packet may be an unreliable packet. The packet may be anunreliable datagram packet. The packet may be a reliable packet. Thepacket may be a transmission control protocol packet (TCP). The logicthat sends the client request to the server premises and the logic thatreceives the new data from the server premises use reliable transport.In some embodiments, the reliable transport is TCP. In some embodiments,the reliable transport comprises a transmission control protocol packet(TCP). In some embodiments, the reliable transport is with at least oneof XML, HTTP, and SOAP riding on top of it.

The client may comprise a low powered Internet appliance. The client maycomprise a gateway.

In some embodiments, the system server comprises a firewall, a webserver, an application server, and a database server. In someembodiments, the application server comprises logic that decodes theclient request and sends a data access request to the database server.The database server may comprise logic that accesses the new data fromthe database and returns the new data to the application server. Thesystem server may comprise logic that notifies the first server thatthere is new data. The system server may comprise logic that notifiesthe second server that there is new data.

The server may comprise logic that updates its cache to indicate thereis new data for the client. The server may comprise a tiny amount ofinformation for a client. The server may comprise only a tiny amount ofinformation for a client. The server may be configured to not use adatabase in its communications with the client and with the serverpremises. The server may be configured to not need to communicate withservers other than the system server (although it may or may not havesuch capability). In some embodiments, the server may be configured tonot do logging (although it may or may not have such capability). Insome embodiments, the server is a status server. While they are notnecessarily interchangeable, attributes (or lack thereof) of the servermay exist (or fail to exist) in the status server. Likewise, attributesof the status server (or the lack thereof) may exist (or fail to exist)in the server, The server may be also referred to as the first serverherein.

In some embodiments, the system uses a redundant system including asecond server. The client may further comprise logic that polls thesecond server to see if there is new data for the client to receive,logic that receives a second notification from the second server thatthere is new data for the client to receive, and logic that, when theclient receives the second notification, sends the client request to theserver premises to retrieve the new data. In some embodiments, the logicthat polls the second server and the logic that receives the firstnotification may use a packet. The packet may be an unreliable packet.The packet may be an unreliable datagram packet. The packet may be areliable packet. The packet may be a transmission control protocolpacket (TCP). The second server may have all the attributes (includingthe lack thereof) of a status server. The second server may have all theattributes of a server as described or referenced herein. The secondserver may be a status server.

In some embodiments, at least the first server and the second servermake up a cluster of servers. Additional servers may be added similarlyfor polling and determining if there is new data for the client. As aresult, any one (or more than one, or all) of the messages between theserver and the client, or between the server and the server premises mayfail. In some embodiments, one of the first server and the second servermay fail to notify the client that there is new data for the client toreceive. The server may be polled more frequently to adjust for this.Additional servers may be added to the cluster and used similarly to thefirst server to ensure the message that there is new data for the clientto receive is not lost for long. The first, second, third, fourth, orany of the servers in the cluster of servers may have the features ofthe server mentioned herein. Likewise, the attributes made in referenceto any specific server (i.e. the first server, the second server, etc.)can be additionally or alternatively attributed to any of the servers inthe cluster of status servers. Any number of the servers in the clusterof servers may be status servers, or none at all.

In some embodiments of the system, the logic comprises hardware. In someembodiments of the system, the logic comprises software.

Provided herein is a network communication system comprising a serverpremises comprising a system server and a database, the system servercomprising logic that upon receiving a client request, retrieves newdata from the database, a server comprising logic that upon polling apacket, sends a notification using a packet, and a client comprisinglogic that polls the server using a packet to see if there is new datafor the client to receive, logic that receives the notification from theserver using a packet that there is new data for the client to receive,logic that, when the client receives the notification, sends a clientrequest to the server premises using reliable transport to retrieve thenew data, and logic that receives the new data from the server premisesusing reliable transport.

In some embodiments, the server is a status server. While they are notnecessarily interchangeable (although in some embodiments they may be),attributes (or lack thereof) of the server may exist (or fail to exist)in the status server. Likewise, attributes of the status server (or thelack thereof) may exist (or fail to exist) in the server, The server maybe also referred to as the first server herein.

Any number, none, or all of the packets referenced herein may beunreliable packet(s). The packet(s) may be a unreliable datagrampacket(s) (UDP). Any number, none, or all of the packets referencedherein may be a reliable packet. Any number, none, or all of the packetsreferenced herein may be a transmission control protocol packet (TCP).Any number, none, or all of the packets referenced herein may usereliable transport. In some embodiments, the reliable transport is TCP.In some embodiments, the reliable transport comprises a transmissioncontrol protocol packet (TCP). Reliable transport may be with at leastone of XML, HTTP, and SOAP riding on top of it.

Aspects of the systems and methods described herein may be implementedas functionality programmed into any of a variety of circuitry,including programmable logic devices (PLDs), such as field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), programmable array logic (PAL) devices,electrically programmable logic and memory devices and standardcell-based devices, as well as application specific integrated circuits(ASICs). Some other possibilities for implementing aspects of thesystems and methods include: microcontrollers with memory, embeddedmicroprocessors, firmware, software, etc. Furthermore, aspects of thesystems and methods may be embodied in microprocessors havingsoftware-based circuit emulation, discrete logic (sequential andcombinatorial), custom devices, fuzzy (neural network) logic, quantumdevices, and hybrids of any of the above device types. Of course theunderlying device technologies may be provided in a variety of componenttypes, e.g., metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET)technologies like complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS),bipolar technologies like emitter-coupled logic (ECL), polymertechnologies (e.g., silicon-conjugated polymer and metal-conjugatedpolymer-metal structures), mixed analog and digital, etc.

It should be noted that the various functions or processes disclosedherein may be described as data and/or instructions embodied in variouscomputer-readable media, in terms of their behavioral, registertransfer, logic component, transistor, layout geometries, and/or othercharacteristics. Computer-readable media in which such formatted dataand/or instructions may be embodied include, but are not limited to,non-volatile storage media in various forms (e.g., optical, magnetic orsemiconductor storage media) and carrier waves that may be used totransfer such formatted data and/or instructions through wireless,optical, or wired signaling media or any combination thereof. Examplesof transfers of such formatted data and/or instructions by carrier wavesinclude, but are not limited to, transfers (uploads, downloads, email,etc.) over the Internet and/or other computer networks via one or moredata transfer protocols (e.g., HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc.). When receivedwithin a computer system via one or more computer-readable media, suchdata and/or instruction-based expressions of components and/or processesunder the systems and methods may be processed by a processing entity(e.g., one or more processors) within the computer system in conjunctionwith execution of one or more other computer programs.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words ‘comprise,’ ‘comprising,’ and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in a sense of ‘including,but not limited to.’ Words using the singular or plural number alsoinclude the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, thewords ‘herein,’ ‘hereunder,’ ‘above,’ ‘below,’ and words of similarimport refer to this application as a whole and not to any particularportions of this application. When the word ‘or’ is used in reference toa list of two or more items, that word covers all of the followinginterpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of theitems in the list and any combination of the items in the list.

The above description of illustrated embodiments of the systems andmethods is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the systems andmethods to the precise form disclosed. While specific embodiments of,and examples for, the systems and methods are described herein forillustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possiblewithin the scope of the systems and methods, as those skilled in therelevant art will recognize. The teachings of the systems and methodsprovided herein can be applied to other processing systems and methods,not only for the systems and methods described above.

The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can becombined to provide further embodiments. These and other changes can bemade to the systems and methods in light of the above detaileddescription.

In general, the terms used should not be construed to limit the systemsand methods to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specificationand the claims, but should be construed to include all processingsystems that operate under the claims. Accordingly, the systems andmethods are not limited by the disclosure.

While certain aspects of the systems and methods may be presented incertain claim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects ofthe systems and methods in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, theinventors reserve the right to add additional claims after filing theapplication to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects ofthe systems and methods.

1.-18. (canceled)
 19. A network communication system comprising: aserver premises comprising a system server and a database; and a clientcomprising: logic that polls a first server to see if there is new datafor the client to receive; logic that receives a first notification fromthe first server that there is new data for the client to receive; logicthat, when the client receives the first notification, sends a clientrequest to the server premises to retrieve the new data; and logic thatreceives the new data from the server premises wherein the system servercomprises logic that upon receiving the client request, retrieves thenew data from the database, wherein the logic that polls the firstserver and the logic that receives the first notification use a packet,and wherein the logic that sends the client request to the server andthe logic that receives the new data from the server premises usereliable transport.
 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the packet is anunreliable datagram packet (UDP).
 21. The system of claim 19, whereinthe first server is a status server.
 22. The system of claim 19, whereinthe system server comprises a firewall, a web server, an applicationserver, and a database server.
 23. The system of claim 22, wherein theapplication server comprises logic that decodes the client request andsends a data access request to the database server.
 24. The system ofclaim 23, wherein the database server comprises logic that accesses thenew data from the database and returns the new data to the applicationserver.
 25. The system of claim 19, wherein the client comprises a lowpowered Internet appliance.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein the lowpowered Internet appliance is a gateway.
 27. The system of claim 19,wherein the reliable transport comprises a transmission control protocolpacket (TCP).
 28. The system of claim 27, wherein the reliable transportis with at least one of XML, HTTP, and SOAP riding on top of it.
 29. Thesystem of claim 19, wherein the system server comprises logic thatnotifies the first server that there is new data.
 30. The system ofclaim 29, wherein the first server comprises logic that updates itscache to indicate there is new data for the client.
 31. The system ofclaim 19, wherein the first server comprises a tiny amount ofinformation for a client.
 32. The system of claim 19, wherein the firstserver does not use a database.
 33. The system of claim 19, wherein thefirst server does not need to communicate with servers other than thesystem server.
 34. The system of claim 19, wherein the first server doesnot do logging.
 35. The system of claim 19, the client furthercomprising: logic that polls a second server to see if there is new datafor the client to receive; logic that receives a second notificationfrom the second server that there is new data for the client to receive;and logic that, when the client receives the second notification, sendsthe client request to the server premises to retrieve the new data,wherein the logic that polls the second server uses a packet, wherein atleast the first server and the second server make up a cluster ofservers.
 36. The system of claim 35, wherein the packet is an unreliabledatagram packet (UDP).
 37. The system of claim 35, wherein at least oneof the first server and the second server is a status server.
 38. Thesystem of claim 35, wherein at least one of the first server and thesecond server fails to notify the client that there is new data for theclient to receive.
 39. The system of claim 19, wherein the logiccomprises hardware.
 40. The system of claim 19, wherein the logiccomprises software.
 41. A network communication system comprising: aserver premises comprising a system server and a database, the systemserver comprising logic that upon receiving a client request, retrievesnew data from the database; a server comprising logic that upon pollingusing a packet, sends a notification using a packet; and a clientcomprising: logic that polls the server using the packet to see if thereis new data for the client to receive; logic that receives thenotification from the server using the packet that there is new data forthe client to receive; logic that, when the client receives thenotification, sends a client request to the server premises usingreliable transport to retrieve the new data; and logic that receives thenew data from the server premises using reliable transport.
 42. Thesystem of claim 41, wherein the packet is an unreliable datagram packet.43. The system of claim 41, wherein the server is a status server.